Politi-Beat Sunday Roundup: Will the Weekend of Action result in a day of action at the polls in September

Sunday

Aug 24, 2014 at 12:01 AM

Will Richmond Herald News City Editor

Advocates for the state's Democratic party will be in Fall River and two dozen other communities this weekend in part to get people to the polls for the fast-approaching primary election.

It's the third and final "Weekend of Action" conducted by the party in the run-up to the primary, but unfortunately it seems all this action could be leading to a day of inaction on Sept. 9.

With just more than two weeks remaining until the primary, very little buzz is building locally over the races that will appear on the ballot.

Despite some competitive statewide races on the Democratic ticket, the lack of any real interest in the limited local races, which are admittedly far down the ballot, just adds to the general malaise that seems to be blanketing this election.

With just the primaries for Governor's Council and County Commissioner, two positions that many voters aren't really familiar with, it comes as no surprise that residents don't have much of a focus on the primary.

And even as Democratic party leaders — party chairman Tom McGee is among those expected to be at the Seabra Market from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday — descend on municipalities in advance of the party elections, they appear to already be focused on getting out a message about November rather than driving the primary vote.

“During our previous two Weekends of Action, activists reached out to over 25,000 voters across the state, having those critically important face-to-face conversations about the ideas and values of the Democratic Party,” Coordinated Campaign Co-Chair and state Sen. Ben Downing, D-Pittsfield, said in a release. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive as voters support the Democratic leadership that has made us No. 1 in the nation in veteran services, education, clean energy and business competitiveness and do not want to go back to the failed policies of Republican Charlie Baker and his MassGOP.”

But while the party focuses on securing the corner office on Beacon Hill in November, is it coming at the expense of their own party candidates?

According to the most recent poll conducted by The Boston Globe, 75 percent of respondents said they don't know who they would vote for in the lieutenant governor's race. The front-runner, based on the poll, is Steve Kerrigan, but with just 12 percent of the support from poll participants. Not exactly a sign of interest.

While the races will heat up in the next two weeks and advertisements are likely to become more prevalent, it may not be enough time to generate much action in the primary.

News and notes from the week.

— State Rep. Alan Silvia, D-Fall River, confirmed he is endorsing Democrat Maura Healy for attorney general.""I just think she's focused on a lot of consumer issues; the foreclosure issue, issues that help seniors and the issues that will really benefit the people in our community," Silvia said.

— The series of GateHouse/WCVB sponsored debates continue this week with a doubleheader on Thursday at Stonehill College. The Democratic candidates for treasurer will go first, debating from 5 to 6 p.m. That will be followed by the Democratic candidates for attorney general running from 7 to 8 p.m. A debate among the Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 2 from 7 to 8 p.m.

— Twitter follow of the week: It's a little off the political beat, but check out @350Mass if you're interested in the upcoming trial of the two men who blocked the delivery of coal to the Brayton Point power station last year.

The Politi-Beat Sunday roundup is a complement to the Politi-Beat blog found at heraldnews.com and appears weekly in The Herald News.

Will Richmond is The Herald News City Editor and can be reached at wrichmond@heraldnews.com or on Twitter @Will_Richmond.

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